mtt 



of 



President 

Benito Pablo Juarez 

'^he Savior and Regenerator 
of 

Mexico 

By a Member of 
Gen. Escobedo's Staff 

COL. JOHN SOBIESKI 



D 



President Lincoln's Application , 

of 

The Monroe Doctrine 



Digitized by tine Internet Arcinive 
in 2010 witin funding from 
Tine Library of Congress 



littp://www.archive.org/details/lifeofpresidentbOOsobi 



of 

President 

Benito Pablo Juarez 

'^~Whe Savior and Regenerator 
of 

Mexico 

By a Member of 
Gen. Escobedo's Staff 

COL. JOHN SOBIESKI 



D 



President Lincoln's Application 

of 

The Monroe Doctrine 



Dedicated to The Princess of Coynt John Sobieski 
and mother of Col. John Sobieshi 



Introduction 

by 

S. A. Coffman 

CD 

Copyright. 1919 
S. A. Coffman 

m 

Published 

by 

S. A. Coffman, Rosendale, Missouri 

All rights reserved, including the right of translation 
in all foreign tongues. 



fp^ 



©C!.A5l54i6 



APR 29 i9l9 



INTRODUCTION 

Why I like to visit with Count John Sobieski and why he is 
qualified to relate the story of Pres. Juarez of Mexico. 

Because he descends from Poland's greatest king, King John 
(Sobieski) III of Poland. 

Because he tells me the thrilling story how the Cossack 
soldiers came to the Sobieski castle east of Warsaw and took him 
and his mother to Warsaw, to appear before the Viceroy of Po- 
land, after his father had been wounded, captured, imprisoned 
and sentenced to be executed by the Czar of Russia. 

Because he tells me the story of the confiscation of the 
Sobieski estate, consisting of 200,000 acres of land, the castle, 
jewels, gold teasets, the latter now reported to be held at Tours, 
France, is filled with romance that traces throughout the court 
chambers of Europe. 

Because he tells me the story of the execution of all his kin, 
how he and his mother, a princess, were banished under the pen- 
alty of death by order of the Czar of Russia, should they or any 
of their kin ever set foot on Russian soil. 

Because he tells me the story of how he and his mother were 
conducted from Warsaw by the Cossacks, their liberation across 
the border in Galicia, their ejection from Austria and Posen, 
their subsequent arrests by detectives of the Czar, their trip to 
Brussels, their stay at Berne, their banishment from Milan, Italy, 
by Archduke Maximilian of Austria who was now Viceroy of 
Italy and who later became Emperor of Mexico and after his 
fall in Mexico was led to execution by Sobieski. 

Because he tells me the story of Maximilian's appearance 
when he addressed them at Milan, and his remarks in his prison 
cell in Mexico after his fall as emperor, when visited by him 
(Count Sobieski) sixteen years later as Escobedo's chief of staff, 
is doubly thrilling. 

Because he tells me the story of his life in Liverpool, Eng- 
land, before and after the death of his mother and how a sailor 
boy concealed him in the bottom of Captain Craven's vessel 
bound for New York City. 



Because he tells me the story of his uncle, General Joseph 
Bern who was one of Napoleon's greatest generals and the 
story of how his uncle reorganized the Turkish army and was 
raised to the rank of pasha. The ovation that England gave 
Louis Kossuth, the great champion of liberty, on his return from 
Turkey, with his uncle, General Joseph Bem. 

Because he tells me the story of the visits made by the sailor 
boy who persuaded him to run away to America, and how he 
was concealed in the bottom of a vessel by the sailor boy; how 
he became a bugler at the U. S. Army post near Governors' 
Island, New York City. 

Because he tells me the story of his trip in the U. S. Army 
to Leavenworth, Kansas; Salt Lake City, Utah; Fort Union, New 
Mexico ; then back to Washington, D. C, at the outbreak of the 
Civil War, th ebattles through which he passed; his wound at 
Gettysburg, the ball passing entirely through the body. 

The story of how President Lincoln and General Baker sent 
him to Richmond as a spy to interview Jefferson Davis and Lee ; 
his report to General Grant that Richmond could not be taken by 
storm or strategy. 

Because he tells me the story of his acting as chief of staff 
for General Escobedo in Mexico, three times sentenced to be 
shot; the 1,000 mile ride by the beautiful daughter of Escobedo 
to save his life ; visiting 3 days with Maximilian in his cell and 
reminding him of the day when he banished him (Sobieski) 
from Italy; his attempt to capture Carlotta, wife of Emperor 
Maximilian; how her French guards all fell dead from their 
horses when the soldiers fired; how Lopez grasped the bridle of 
her horse ; how the Empress shot him and escaped ; how Sobieski 
directed the execution of Maximilian as commander of the re- 
serve firing squad. 

All of this enables Colonel John Sobieski to tell the story of 
President Juarez of Mexico with whom he fought through this 
long struggle and for which he was voted, if I recall correctly, 
10,000 acres of land in Mexico. 

S. A. COFFMAN, 
Rosendale, Mo. 



f restbenl Mtnxln f ahla luaren 

The Saviour and Regenerator of Mexico. 
By a Member of Gen. Escobedo's Staff, Col. John Sobieski. 

By a most remarkable coincidence the two men who were 
the most widely known and the most talked about during the 
period extending from 1860 until 1865 were the President of 
the Republic of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, and the 
President of the Republic of Mexico, Benito Pablo (Benjamin 
Paul) Juarez. These two Presidents were born in similar en- 
vironments. Abraham Lincoln was born in a one-room log cabin 
in the wilds of Kentucky and fifty years afterwards was chosen 
President of the United States, carried his country through a 
mighty civil conflict and died at the very hour of its consumma- 
tion amid the lamentations of the whole world, leaving an im- 
perishable name ; a name that will live when all kings and em- 
perors have been forgotten. 

President Juarez was born a few years earlier than Lin- 
coln, in San Pablo, a little village in the State of Oajaca, March 
21, 1806, of Indian parents, in a little adobe cabin of one room. 
There was not in his veins a single drop of the blood of Mexico's 
conquerors. Like that of the babe born in Kentucky that was 
destined to a great career, so was born this Indian boy, amid un- 
promising surroundings. When he was but a small child he lost 
both of his parents. When he was twelve years old he was still 
unable to speak anything but the Indian language, a language 
not recognized by the laws of Spain. Up to this time he had 
never seen a book nor had learned a single letter. But at this 
age, a monk took him into his service to perform menial work. 
The kind monk recognized in this bright obedient boy elements 
of character that attracted him, and he instructed him in the 
rudiments of education. The boy studied the books with such 
ardor and enthusiasm that the monk determined to give him still 
greater opportunities, and placed him in a seminary in the vil- 
lage, intending to make a priest of him. He soon stood at the 
head of all his classes in the seminary. He finally determined 
that he would not enter the priesthood, but decided instead to 
enter the law. He attended college for that purpose in the same 



6 LIFE OF PRESIDENT BENITO PABLO JUAREZ 

village. He astonished all by his application to the study of 
law. The students of the school were amazed to see the little 
despised charity scholar taking all the honors and graduating at 
the head of his class. 

In 1834 he was admitted to the bar. From the very first 
he took an active interest in the affairs of his country. Mexico 
was in a most deplorable condition, torn asunder by factions, 
and almost in a continual state of civil war. He identified him- 
self with the liberal or progressive party, and in 1836 suffered 
his first imprisonment at the hands of the conservative party. 
After an imprisonment of several months he was liberated and 
resumed the practice of law. But in 1842, at the age of thirty- 
six, he became the Chief Judge of the Republic of Mexico and 
discharged the duties of that exalted office with great ability 
and integrity, and easily placed himself at the head of the jurists 
of his country. He held this post until 1845, when he became 
Secretary of State, of the State of Oajaca. He soon afterwards, 
however, relinquished that office, and acted as Chief Justice of 
the Superior Court of the State until the end of the same year. 

When the Revolution of 1846 occurred under Salas, the 
State of Oajaca assumed an independent sovereignty and estab- 
lished a Junta vesting the executive power triumvirate, com- 
posed of Fernandez del Campo- Arteaga and Juarez. Acting 
in their capacity, they restored the constitution of 1824, and 
Arteaga was elected Governor, and Juarez was deputy to the 
general constituent congress of 1846, and in this body he took a 
leading part, and led the proposition to secure a loan of $14,000,- 
000.00 to defend the Republic against the armies of the United 
States. 

Arteaga, having resigned in 1847, Juarez was elected in his 
place as Governor of Oajaca, and served uninterruptedly for 
five years, the longest period which up to that time any civil 
officer had served in Mexico. It was here that he showed his 
great capacity as a leader, ruler and reformer. He introduced 
many reforms, put the finances of the State on a sound basis, 
met all the demands of the General Government for contribu- 
tions, paid all its debts, met every financial obligation, secured 
order and good government throughout the entire State, and 
when he retired from office he left money in the treasury. 

When Santa Ana became President of the Republic, recog- 
nizing in this young successful leader one who would naturally 
be his antagonist in all his designs and intentions, he promptly 



THE SAVIOR AND REGENERATOR OF MEXICO 7 

arrested Juarez and banished him from Mexico. He went to 
New Orleans, where he lived for two years in very straightened 
circumstances. While he was living in New Orleans, he sup- 
ported himself by working in a cigar factory, making cigars. 
Here we have a remarkable instance of a man who had filled 
some of the most exalted offices in his native country, a scholar, 
and a statesman, working as a common laborer, twisting tobacco, 
having for his associates negro slaves. I doubt whether in the 
history of the world we have a parallel case. Garabaldi, when 
an exile in this country about the same time, worked in a candle 
factory; but his associates were free men like himself. But 
Juarez vv^orked with men who were working under the lash of 
their masters. He was as dark as those with whom he worked, 
and it is doubtful whether he received treatment any better, ex- 
cept to escape the lash, and yet this little silent man, toiling 
away at the bench with slaves, was destined in the brief space 
of ten years to drive one emperor from his throne, an emperor 
that belonged to one of the oldest, proudest and most powerful 
royal houses in Europe; and by his sanction that emperor was 
to die like a common criminal ; and at the same time he was to 
indirectly strike a fatal blow at one of the mightiest sovereigns 
of his day, who bore the prestige and the name of his uncle, the 
greatest man the world has ever seen since Julius Caesar; and 
the effect of that blow was to finally send him into captivity and 
exile. But while he was working at the toilers' bench he was 
improving every spare hour in studying the institutions of the 
Great North American Republic, the United States; and he be- 
came so thoroughly versed in them, her laws, her schools, her 
financial system, that he determined, if possible, upon his return 
to his native country, should be ever be permitted to return, to 
imbue his countrymen with them, and, if possible, to establish 
these principles. One thing particularly he was impressed with 
here, and that was our free, independent religious institutions. 
He had been born and reared in a country that, while nominally 
a Republic, still was cursed with privileged classes. First, the 
army and all connected with it was entirely independent of every 
other department of Government. The civil Government had 
no voice in its control ; it was absolutely independent. The next 
was the church. While practically everybody in the Republic 
of Mexico belonged to the Catholic church, yet the Catholic 
church, its priests, its bishops and its monks and all of their 
establishments were as independent of the Civil Government as 
though the Civil Government did not exist. Most of the clergy 
of that church were Spanish, having no sympathy with the peo- 
ple whatever; and in the struggle against Spain, when Mexico 



8 LIFE OF PRESIDENT BENITO PABLO JUAREZ 

threw off the yoke of that power the hierarchy of the church 
had stood loyally by the Spanish Government and sought by 
their powerful influence to perpetuate the Spanish rule ; and 
after Mexico became a Republic they had done everything they 
could to embarrass, to bring confusion and to create dissentions, 
hoping thereby that the Mexican people, at last wearied by 
anarchy and disorder would again welcome the Spanish Sover- 
eignty. Their possessions in Mexico were immense. In addi- 
tion to their churches and convents and monasteries, which were 
more numerous than in any country in the world with the possi- 
ble exception of Spain, she owned and possessed more than two- 
thirds of the country; and not a dollar of this was subject to 
taxation, but instead the other part was taxed heavily to sup- 
port the church of the state. 

Abraham Lincoln upon one occasion was in Natchez, Mis- 
sissippi and witnessed a negro auction where negroes were sold. 
It was reported that the sight so filled him with indignation that 
he said if he ever got a chance to hit slavery he would hit it 
hard ; and so it was with this great Mexican statesman. He had 
seen in the forty years of the independence of Mexico forty re- 
bellions, and he knew who had engineered those rebellions and 
forced them to the front, and he determined that if he ever got a 
chance to hit at the cause of these rebellions, he would hit it 
hard. The opportunity came and he kept his word and struck 
it to its death. 

In July, 1855, he learned that a revolution had broken out 
in Mexico, and he resolved that he would return to his native 
land, v/hich he did, landing at Acapulco. Then he began that 
wonderful career of twelve years and a little over, a career that 
has never been equaled on this continent and has been excelled 
but a few times vi the history of the world. Upon landing in 
Mexico he joiner General Alvarez, then commanding the revo- 
lutionary troop o against General Santa Ana. Alvarez was pro- 
claimed PreF"' lent on October 4, 1855, and he at once appointed 
Juarez Mir ^cer of Justice and Religion. It is well known now 
that he h- a already acquainted the leading men of the reform 
movemei u with his intention. He assembled them together in 
conferc:.ce at the headquarters of General Alvarez, and there 
laid before them his project. He pointed out to them the ills of 
Mexico and her sufferings and distraction of forty years, con- 
vinced them that the only safety for the Republic lay in com- 
pletely revolutionizing the affairs of church and state and that 



THE SAVIOR AND REGENERATOR OF MEXICO 9 

the church must be placed completely at the mercy of the state. 
In other words, things were to be reversed, and instead of the 
church being the master of the state, the state was to master 
the church, which should be a servant of the state. Juarez was 
pledged the unanimous support of all the elements opposed to 
General Santa Ana. It was a great undertaking. The people 
of 'Mexico were thoroughly Catholic and thoroughly religious 
and devout. The power of the priests was beyond the concep- 
tion of any person not living in Mexico at that time. 

To lead the people or to prevail upon the people to back 
them in their conquest of the church, it took men of great faitli, 
great courage and great ability, and God has raised up the men 
in the persons of Juarez and Comonfort and Diaz and Escobe- 
do. As already stated, Juarez was appointed Minister of Jus- 
tice and Religion, and immediately after the inauguration of 
the new administration, Juarez proposed a bill for the abolish- 
ment of the special clerical and military courts, under which 
these two classes had long enjoyed immunity from the laws of 
the nation, and the measure received the unanimous sanction 
of the constituent congress. When this had been accomplished 
the die was cast and the issue was made and there could be no 
retreat. 

The alarm was at once sounded by the church leaders and 
now began that terrific struggle of ten years — ^ten years of terri- 
ble battles. Often defeated, often disheartened, but never dis- 
couraged this little Indian kept right on and on to final victory. 
When Comonfort succeeded Alvarez to the Presidency, Decem- 
ber 11, 1855, he at once appointed Juarez Governor of Oajaca, 
in order to remove him from the Cabinet. Juarez was received 
with joy in his native state, and his second administration was 
even more successful than his first had been. Such was his im- 
mense popularity that in September, 1857, he was elected the 
Constitutional Governor of the State, and at the same time at the 
general election, he was elected President of the Supreme Court 
of Justice and this made him in effect the Vice-President of the 
Republic. 

While C®m®nfort was an able man, an honest man and a 
true patriot and at heart in full sympathy with Juarez, yet the 
tremendous task that he saw before him was so appalling that 
he wavered and vascillated; in other words he was unequal to 
the great task to be accomplished. There was only one man 



10 LIFE OF PRESIDENT BENITO PABLO JUAREZ 

that could lead the people out of the wilderness to victory, and 
that man was Benito Pablo Juarez. 

Finally Comonfort retired, seeing how utterly out of tune 
he was, his conservatism creating distrust in the ranks of the 
liberals, while it gained no friends for him in the clerical party, 
in fact, the contest had gotten beyond where a middle course 
could be adopted. The liberal or progressive forces were rally- 
ing around the constitution of 1857; while the clericals, on the 
other hand, under the leadership of Miramon, were aiming for 
the overthrow of the constitution of 1857, and were defending 
the prerogatives of the church. The battle was joined and it 

had to be an uncompromising battle, a battle to the death. The 
clerical party seemingly had every advantage. First, they had 
the entire force and power of the hierarchy. Every one who 
opposed the church party was practically excommunicated by 
the church. The priests and bishops sought to make it a holy 
warfare ; and their enemies, or the forces of Juarez, defender 
of the constitution, were denounced as apostates, infidels and 
robbers of the church, whose punishment would be the fires of 
eternal perdition. And when we consider the intense religious 
character of the Mexican people we can get some sort of an 
idea what the effect was upon them by this denunciation. Then 
the pure Spanish element which very largely constituted the 
wealth and the aristocracy of the Republic was largely and al- 
most universally against the forces of Juarez. Then the army 
was generally on the side of the Clericals, for the constitution 
of '57 had subordinated the army to the Government. But on 
the side of Juarez all the genuine real patriots of the country 
rallied. The terrible experiences that Mexico had gone through 
for forty years had taught them that nothing but strong radical 
measures would save the Republic, and so Benito Pablo Juarez 
came to the office of President of Mexico upon the retirement 
of Comonfort by virtue of his office as Vice-President, and was 
recognized as President by the States in January, 1858. This 
was the logical outcome of the situation. 

Juarez was the soul embodiment of the whole struggle for 
the regeneration of Mexico. In the next two years more than 
fifty battles were fought between these contending forces, as 
bloody, cruel battles as that country had ever witnessed. The 
first year victory seemed to be with the Clerical party; but in 
the end the forces of the constitutionalists were triumphant. In 
April, 1859, Juarez was recognized as President by the United 



THE SAVIOR AND REGENERATOR OF MEXICO 11 

States, and on January 11, 1861, he entered the City of Mexico 
which had been in the possession of the Clerical party up to 
that time. As a demonstration of the great courage and faith 
of Juarez in the darkest days of his cause, he issued a decree 
nationalizing and sequestrating the property of the church. He 
followed this up shortly after by a law regarding civil marriages, 
and still later by the decree of religious toleration and the 
secularization of the cemeteries. That the reader may under- 
stand the meaning of these reforms, I will state that by this de- 
cree all of the church property, that is, the buildings, convents, 
monasteries was confiscated by the State, and that is the status 
to this day. In a conversation which the writer had with Presi- 
dent Juarez, just after the close of the struggle that had ended 
in the execution of Maximilian, I expressed surprise that they 
had gone so far in confiscating the property of the church, re- 
marking that it was only right that property v^^hich the church 
possessed, which was not used for the purpose of worship, should 
justly have been confiscated; but that the church buildings 
should have been left in the hands of the church. I remember 
that great statesmen in his reply said that he could understand 
how one Vv^ho was not familiar with the struggle in Mexico in 
an earlier day and knew but little of the attitude of the church 
tov\^ard the Republic might think as I did. But he said they 
well knov/n the problem with which they had to deal, that from 
the earliest days in their struggle against Spain, to the last one 
in their struggle against Maximilian, the church had been the 
Republic's most inveterate foe. Hence they must make a clean 
matter of the whole thing by placing the church completely at 
the mercy of the Republic, so that any moment they desired 
they could close the doors of every church in the Republic. He 
said that he was reared a Catholic, that the people of Mexico 
were practically all members of that church ; they knew scarcely 
anything about any other religion, that they were anxious and 
willing to be in accord with the church; but the church must 
not exercise its great power for the destruction of the Republic. 
Religious liberty up to this time had been unknown in Mexico ; 
but by this act religious liberty was fully established and the 
Republic thrown open to the religions of the world. 

Up to this time there had been no such thing as civil mar- 
riages ; now civil marriage was made essential, and after that if 
one wished another marriage by the priest, this was permitted. 

Up to this time all the cemeteries of the Republic were 
under the direction of the church. No one could be buried in 



12 LIFE OF PRESIDENT BENITO PABLO JUARE Z 

them, u-nless they died within the bosom of the church. But 
now the cemeteries were thrown open to every one, regardless 
of religious creed. 



> 



In March, 1861, Juarez was elected President of the Re- 
public by an overwhelming majority. The opposing candidate 
was Miguel Lerdo de Tejada. One of the first acts of his ad- 
ministration was the suspension of all payment of debts to 
foreign nations or to foreign creditors for two years. This was 
not intended by any means as an act of repudiation; but just 
the reverse. Mexico had been in a constant tumult for forty 
years, and for four or five years the Republic had passed through 
a terrible ordeal, one of the bloodiest civil wars that any coun- 
try had experienced. All industries, all trade, all commerce 
had been brought to a standstill. The Mexico had emerged at 
last from the terrible struggle, and comparative peace was with- 
in her borders. Juarez believed that in two years' time he could 
get the departments of justice, of trade and commerce into a 
condition where he could establish a system of finance that 
would enable them to meet every obligation at home and abroad. 
Hence this order. This is a well known principle of business 
throughout the commercial world, that whenever, for any reason, 
a business concern becomes temporarily embarrassed, that the 
concern shall have proper time to arrange to meet their obliga- 
tions. But the conservative or Clerical party, having been beaten 
in the field, now resorted to diplomacy, what they had failed to 
accomplish at home by political means and power of arms in 
the field. So emissaries were dispatched to Europe to make 
an appeal to Catholic powers working through the influence 
of the Pope to intervene in behalf of the Holy Church and its 
interest in Mexico. But the Catholic powers of Europe just at 
that time were not well prepared to interfere. Austria had just 
received a stunning defeat by France a year or two "before ; and 
France was not disposed to espouse such a cause, so that the 
only way to accomplish anything was by indirection. Spain was 
willing to embark in war against Mexico in hope of reinstating 
itself in power in that Republic. Napoleon the Third, who had 
very little, if any, religious sentiment was to be approached 
through his wife, the Empress Eugenia. Concealing the real ob- 
ject in view, Louis Napoleon was made to believe that now was 
the great opportunity of his reign to establish in Mexico a Latin 
Empire as a breakwater against the Republic of the United 
States. England very shrewdly was appealed to, through her 
financial interests. It was pointed out to her that this action of 
Juarez in suspending payment to their foreign creditors for two 



THE SAVIOR AND REGENERATOR OF MEXIC O 13 

years was but a prelude to her complete repudiation of her debts. 
So these three powers entered into a convention or treaty, 
October 31, 1861, to send an army and navy to compel Mexico 
to pay, or provide to pay these debts. 

But Juarez was willing to protect the interest of the credi- 
tors and assured them that Mexico, now for the first time in its 
history, was in a situation to arrange to meet her obligation. 
So England drew out. In fact, England had never entered into 
it in a hearty manner; and just as soon as she was assured that 
Mexico now had a permanent government, that the man at the 
head of the government was a strong, able man, they were only 
too willing to withdraw, and no act of the British Government 
was more popular and gave such universal satisfaction as this. 
Spain, as has been already stated, entered into the movement, 
not so much to secure the payment of the small sums due her 
subjects, as it was to get a foothold again, and to reestablish 
herself in the country. But when she became fully aware of 
the designs of the Emperor of France, she proceeded at once 
to enter into an understanding with Mexico, and drew out of 
the alliance. 

The withdrawal of England and Spain from the alliance, 
left France in a very humiliating position. Her great design of 
establishing an Empire seemed about to collapse. However, 
the Emperor Napoleon determined to go ahead. So he declared 
war against Juarez on April 16^ 1862. Juarez, after fighting 
four years to subdue the factions in his own country, now found 
himself at war with one of the most powerful nations of Europe. 
But with his characteristic faith and courage, the great states- 
man and leader never faltered for a moment. The French gov- 
ernment informed the United States government that they did 
not intend in any way to violate the Monroe Doctrine, that they 
had no thought of territorial aggrandizement, but simply to 
compel Mexico to meet her financial obligation. The United 
States could not object to this, and was not in a condition to ob- 
ject to it, even if she would; for all of this occurred right in the 
midst of the great Civil War. 

The genius of Juarez never shone brighter than at this 
time. Almost any other man would have abandoned the con- 
test. But not so with Juarez. He was equal to the occasion. 
He issued a proclamation to the people of Mexico telling them 
that a foreign foe with an army had landed upon their shores 
and was marching on their capitol. He appealed to the Mexi- 



14 LIFE OF PRESIDENT BENITO PABLO JUARE Z 

cans, irrespective of past political differences, to rally to his 
standard and to fight a common enemy. He recognized the 
army and ibued them with his noble spirit, to meet and grapple 
with the adversary of their homes. On the 25th of January, 
1862, Juarez issued his celebrated decree declaring that all men 
between the age of sixteen and sixty who failed to enroll them- 
selves among the defenders of the country should be declared 
traitors to their country. The condition of the times demanded 
this decree, stern as it seems to be. The country was in a peri- 
lous condition ; traitors were on every hand, as well as a foreign 
foe, and it required the strongest of measures to meet the emer- 
gency. The first of April the French Army began their march 
toward the City of Mexico, never dreaming any serious opposi- 
tion. They marched triumphantly on to Pueblo, and here they 
met the leadership of the gallant young Zaragoza, one of the 
brightest and ablest generals that Mexico ever produced. He 
promptly attacked the French, though they outnumbered his 
men two to one, and dealt them a crushing and overwhelming 
defeat. The arms of the Republic won a glorious victory, and 
to this day that date is celebrated as the most glorious in the 
history of Mexico. It reminds one something of the battle of 
New Orleans, fought by Gen, Jackson in 1815, where with just 
a handful of undisciplined Tennessee and Kentucky mountain- 
eers, he met the veteran army of Gen. Packingham, which out- 
numbered him three to one, and practically annihilated them. 
The French army now retreated and it was some weeks before 
they were able to resume their march. About this time the gal- 
lant young Zaragoza sickened and died. This was an irrepara- 
ble loss to the Republic. General Forey had now arrived from 
France and took command of the French army. The career of 
this officer was in every way the darkest in the French occupa- 
tion of Mexico. He plundered and murdered and confiscated 
property. In his whole career there v/as not one redeeming fea- 
ture. As long as Mexico exists the name of Forey will be remem- 
bered with horror. 

In May, 1863, the French army took up the line of march 
to the capitol. They had been more than a year on the way and 
had not won but a single victory. Now they captured Pueblo 
and marched on to the City of Mexico without much opposition 
and occupied the city the 11th of June, 1863. It had been four- 
teen months since they first marched out of Vera Cruz. 

On the occupation of the City of Mexico by the French 
army, Juarez established his government at San Luis Potosi, 



THE SAVIOR AND REGENERATOR OF MEXICO 15 



June 10, and shortly afterward he retreated still further to 
Monterey. After a few weeks, he retreated to Chehuahua and 
established his government in that city October 12, 1864. Mean- 
while the French, or rather the French Emperor, Louis Napoleon 
was informed by an assemblage of notables that was composed 
entirely of the Clerical Party, or nearly so, that it was their wish 
that he would select for them some Catholic Prince to rule over 
them, and suggested Archduke Maximilian of the House of 
Hapsburg, the brother of Francis Joseph, the Emperor of Aus- 
tria. Of course, this choice had already been made known by 
Emperor Napoleon long before the congress of notables assem- 
bled. But, nevertheless, the Emperor of the French complimen- 
ted the notables on their selection of the Prince, so illustrious 
and so acceptable to him as the Archduke Maximilian, of 
Austria. 

Maximilian was now informed of the choice made, and 
after a little pretended hesitation, he consented on condition 
that he should be chosen by the French people. So an election 
was called by the French authorities, a day appointed, French 
troops posted at the polls to see that no one who was not accep- 
able to them or was not in sympathy with their views should take 
part in the election. And, of course, the vote was unanimous 
and the Archduke was at once informed of the result and he 
and his consort Carlotta proceeded to Mexico, and were crowned 
in the cathedral of the City of Mexico, with great pomp and 
ceremony. Emperor and Empress of Mexico. 

Louis Napoleon could not possibly have selected a more un- 
fit man than Maximilian. The man needed for the work that 
he intended should be done in Mexico, should have been a man 
of decided abilities, of great experience, and a diplomat. Maxi- 
milian possessed none of these qualities. He would have done 
well enough to have reigned over a well organized harmonious 
government where a mere figurehead was needed. It seems 
strange to the world even to this day that such a man was chosen. 
It can only be explained on the ground that no other Prince in 
Europe cared for the job. 

Maximilian was a man of some excellent qualities. His do- 
niestic life was beautiful. He was the only one of the male line 
of the House of Hapsburg for many generations that had any 
"^oj^j? at all. Being a gentleman, he naturally hated a traitor 
and did not have diplomacy enough to conceal his aversion. He 
openly expressed his admiration of Juarez, and his contempt for 



16 LIFE OF PRESIDENT BENITO PABLO JUARE Z 

those that had taken part with the French in their invasion of 
their own country. Shortly after he became Emperor, the lead- 
ers of the Catholic church requested him to restore all the church 
property to them. He replied that he could give them the church 
buildings to worship in and that the church should be supported 
by the Empire, but that their other property had already passed 
into the hands of a third party and it would be impossible to re- 
store it. He was requested furthermore, by the Clericals to pro- 
hibit the exercise of any other religion except that of the Catho- 
lic religion. He replied that while he was a devout son of the 
church, he did not think it was wise or proper to prohibit abso- 
lutely all other religions except that of the religion of the state; 
he thought other religions should be permitted to come in under 
certain restrictions. It seems that Maximilian had further prom- 
ised them that when he became thoroughly settled in govern- 
ment that he would recommend compensation to the church for 
the property which they had been deprived of by Juarez. But 
this did not satisfy them at all ; so many of them withdrew from 
court, and the representative of the Pope returned to Rome. 
Juarez, after abandoning the capitol, knowing how futile it 
would be with his army of undisciplined men to attempt to cope 
with the French army, decided instead of meeting them in gen- 
eral battle to organize a general guerrilla warfare and continu- 
ally harass the troops of the Empire, to keep them constantly in 
a state of disquietude. The writer of this article heard Juarez 
say at the close of the struggle that he never doubted for a single 
moment the final outcome ; that all he had to do was to keep the 
forces of the Republic well in hand until the hour of deliverance 
would come. 

On the third of October, 1865, Emperor Maximilian issued 
a decree that sealed the fate of his Empire and of his own life. 
In this proclamation, he declared that Juarez had finally given 
up the contest, that he had so valiantly fought for and left the 
territory of Mexico; that therefore, hereafter the struggle in 
Mexico would not be between two governments struggling for 
supremacy, but it would be between the forces of the Empire on 
one side, and marauders and guerrillas on the other, and that 
they would be treated as such, that no quarter would be given, 
that when captured, they would be tried by a drumhead court 
martial and immediately executed, and that anyone aiding and 
abetting them would share the same fate, or any person conceal- 
ing any of them would be held equally as guilty, or the authori- 
ties of any town, city or village that knew of the existence of any 
such bands and did not inform the authorities, would receive the 



T HE SAVIOR AND REGENERATOR OF MEXICO 17 

severest possible punishment. This order was no doubt one of 
the most cruel and blood thirsty decrees that had been issued by 
a Prince in a thousand years. It was predicated to begin with 
upon a falsehood, for Juarez was not out of the country, and 
had never been out of the country since the day that he returned 
from exile after his sojourn in New Orleans, and it is very doubt- 
ful that Maximilian believed this to be the case when he issued 
the decree. But we shall speak of this farther on. 

When the American Civil war closed, the United States gov- 
ernment promptly informed the Emperor of France that the 
presence of foreign troops in Mexico, supporting and maintain- 
ing Maximilian as Emperor, was in conflict with the policy of 
our government and that therefore, they requested the French 
Emperor to withdraw his troops from Mexico forthwith. 
Napoleon was compelled to comply with the request, consequent- 
ly, measures were taken for the evacuation of Mexico by the 
French troops. In the fall of 1865 the term of Juarez expired 
as President. But it was not possible to hold an election, and, 
therefore, Gen. Gonzalez Ortega, by virtue of his position as 
President of the Supreme Court of Justice, asserted his right to 
assume the executive power. But Juarez perceived that this 
would be very disastrous to their cause to have a change of 
executives at this time. He, therefore, extended his term until 
such time when the country would be at peace and a regular 
constitutional election could be held. For a few months the seat 
of government was at El Paso, or what is now known as the town 
of Juarez, opposite the present town of El Paso, Texas. While 
there, he was often invited to partake of the hospitality of the 
American commander at Fort Bliss; but this he refused to do, 
as it would be leaving the soil of Mexico. Now, as the French 
troops began to leave Mexico, the Republican forces began to 
concentrate and began to win victories all along the line. Juarez, 
at this juncture, now began to move south, tarrying for a time 
at Chihuahua and then at Durango, then to Zacatecas and then 
to San Luis Potosi, while the troops under Maximilian were con- 
centrated at the City of Queretaro. Gen. Escobedo and Gen. 
Diaz met the forces of the Empire at this city with 30,000 men, 
and there the end came. Maximilian surrendered with his en- 
tire force to the Republic. Shortly after this, all the places held 
by the Imperialists surrendered to the Republican forces, and 
on July 16, 1867, Juarez reentered the City of Mexico, after an 
absence of four years. Four years before when he retired be- 
fore the Imperial force and the army of the Clericals, almost the 
whole world believed that his case was hopeless. Editorials ap- 



18 LIFE OF PRESIDENT BENITO PABLO JUAREZ 

peared in all the leading papers of Europe and in this country, in 
which Juarez was generally complimented for the splendid fight 
that he had put up against the tremendous opposition, but all 
spoke of his cause as hopelessly defeated and lost forever; but 
there was one man that did not believe that, and that was Juarez 
himself, and his brave lieutenants whom he had inspired with 
his own unconquerable spirit. And now after a lapse of four 
years, he victoriously and triumphantly entered the ancient 
capitol of the Republic. 

Maximilian was at once brought to trial, charged with sev- 
eral specifications; but two only were pressed. First, that of 
fillibuster, that as a subject of Francis Joseph of Austria, with 
whom the Republic of Mexico was at peace, he had entered 
Mexico and directed a warfare against the peace and integrity 
of the Republic. Second, on October 3, 1865, he had caused a 
decree to be issued in his name, ordering that all found fighting 
for the Republic should be made to sufifer death. 

They permitted him to have counsel. But what could they 
do? There were the facts that could not be denied, and the re- 
sult was he was found guilty and executed. 

There has been all over the world a feeling that Juarez was 
unjustifiable in permitting the execution of Maximilian. This 
arises from the fact that the world is not generally conversant 
with the situation that made his execution imperative. It cannot 
be pleaded in his behalf that he was invited to Mexico by any 
body of men that had a right to speak for Mexico. The notables, 
so called, were an unauthorized body that represented nobody 
and were self chosen. The election that was ordered by Louis 
Napoleon was as big a farce as was the election ordered by Louis 
Napoleon in France when he was chosen President for life. In 
both cases troops at the polls prevented any other result except 
that which would be pleasing to Napoleon. Maximilian was 
fully conversant with all of this, and knew from the first that 
without the presence of a French army his throne could not be 
maintained a month. Consequently, his presence in Mexico was 
that of a fillibuster, and hence the first charge was true in every 
particular. 

Now as to the second charge of issuing the decree of Octo- 
ber 3, 1865. He had been defended for this, or rather apologized 
for on various grounds. First, that he believed when he issued 
it that Juarez had left the territory of Mexico. But it was too 



THE SAVIOR AND REGENERATOR OF MEXICO 19 

important a matter for a Sovereign to take for granted without 
proper invesigation. Declaring'brave men to be outlaws and to 
be shot to death, and whole communities to be put in the same 
category without having first ascertained the facts of the state- 
ment put forth in a decree that Juarez had left Mexico, was 
criminal and indefensible from any standpoint of view. And 
then from the fact that he let the decree stand and continued to 
enforce it thereafter, when he had every evidence of the pres- 
ence of Juarez in Mexico, shows how faulty is this defense. By 
others it has been asserted that it was only intended to intim- 
idate, and thus to compel obedience. But there remains the 
fact that it was a living force, that by its enforcement, hundreds 
and, indeed thousands of as brave, splendid men as ever de- 
fended their country were "slaughtered, and mejjcilessly slaugh- 
tered. Again, he has been apologized for, that as the decree 
was so inconsistent with his life and character, that he could 
not have been the author of it. Some have attributed the author- 
ship to Louis Napoleon; others to Bazaine, the French General. 
But who the author was, or who suggested the cruel order, it 
makes but little difference. There remains the fact; it was issued 
in his name and for two years it did its cruel and damnable work 
in the name of Maximilian. And then again, while it may seem 
inconsistent with his character, the decree was consistent with 
the record of the House of Hapsburg, of Austria, to which he 
belonged. One has only to remember what the brave patriots 
of Hungaria passed through after the triumph of the armies of 
Austria and Eussia over them in 1850. I think there can be little 
doubt in our mind who was the real author of that bloody decree. 
In executing Maximilian, or permitting his execution, Juarez was 
justified from any standpoint from which it can be viewed. He 
did not do it as an act of revenge. That great soul was incapable 
of the spirit of revenge. He did it as an act of Supreme Justice, 
and also as a wise and statesmanship act to safeguard the future. 

The fate of Maximilian will ever be remembered by any 
Prince of Europe, who might ever dare to repeat what Maximil- 
ian attempted to do in Mexico. 

After the reestablishment of the authority of the Republic 
throughout all of Mexico, Juarez began the work of adjusting 
the conditions of Mexico to the new regime. In November, 1867, 
he was reelected President of the Republic and reelected again 
in 1871. During this time he was busy at work extending the 
principle of the constitution throughout the Republic. Some dis- 
turbances took place and now and then the embers of the old 



20 LIFE OF PRESIDENT BENITO PABLO JUAREZ 



conflict were fanned into flame, the last dying struggle of a de- 
feated hierarchy ; but still this great man kept right on to the 
last. His death came suddenly and unexpectedly, due to 
apoplexy, July 16, 1872, at the age of sixty-six. Thus ended the 
career of the greatest man that Spanish-America ever produced 
and certainly one of the greatest characters of the age in which 
he lived. 

When the writer saw him the last time, seven years before 
his death, he had the same jet black hair and black penetrating 
eyes. He was about five feet four inches in height, a very silent 
man and exceedingly modest; no one ever heard him boast of 
any of his achievements. He was unlike most of the Mexicans 
in this respect. The Mexicans are known for their dashing ap- 
pearance and gay equipage. But Juarez, every time that I met 
him, and perhaps it was fifty times, was always dressed the 
same, in plain broadcloth, with nothing about him to attract at- 
tention. He rarely, if ever, attended any place of amusement, 
and never attended a bull fight. He was practically a total ab- 
stainer, now and then drinking a glass of wine, although he pre- 
ferred a cup of coffee or a glass of water. All of his kindred 
died when he was but a child, and he, as I understand, never 
married, thereby leaving no descendants, no one to inherit his 
great name. While he was very silent and unobtrusive, yet there 
was something about him, a mysterious something not indicated 
by anything that he would either say or do, that would impress 
you that you were in the presence of a great man, a leader that 
you would be willing to follow and take his counsel without ques- 
tion. Someone asked a man once who Vv^as intimately acquainted 
with Gen. Andrew Jackson, what it was that made him such a 
great leader of men. Not his education, for the hero of New 
Orleans was very limited in his education; though it was true 
he was a brave man and knew not danger. Well the man said 
that he did not know, that no one could tell ; but he said if a 
party of men were penetrating a forest, and all strangers to 
each other, and if Gen. Jackson was among them, and they 
should be attacked by Indians, that before they knew it, they 
would all be following the leadership of Jackson, not knowing 
why they were following him ; neither would Jackson know why 
he was leading them. It cannot be explained. Juarez had for 
lieutenants, both in the field and in his cabinet, gifted men, yet 
they all yielded to Juarez without question. Juarez was 
possessed of a liberal education, speaking fluently three lan- 
guages, the Spanish, his native Indian tongue and the French. 
He was a good writer, but had not the gift of eloquence. He 



THE SAVIOR AND REGENERATOR OF MEXICO 21 

possessed no vices whatever. He was as humane as Lincoln. 
After the surrender of the Imperial Army and the leaders of the 
Clerical party, he only executed about twenty, and these were 
men that had been so cruel, so blood-thirsty, that they had out- 
raged every principle of humanity, and their execution was de- 
manded by every principle of justice. There was a great clamor 
for the execution of hundreds of others; but this he refused to 
do, declaring that such a thing would be nothing short of 
vindictive revenge, which he would not tolerate. 

It has been charged by the Clerical party and others that 
he was an atheist, a disbeliever in God and religion; but this 
was a gross misrepresentation of this great man. I quote from 
his proclamation, issued by him to the Mexican people at the 
close of the war with Maximilian. He said, "Let the Mexican 
people fall on their knees before God, who has deigned to crown 
our arms with victory. He has smitten the foreigner, who has 
oppressed us sorely. He has established these His people in 
their rightful place, for He who hath His habitation in the 
heavens is the Visitor and Protector of our country, who strikes 
down those who came to do us ill, the Excellent, the only just 
Almighty and Eternal One is He who hath dispersed the nation 
which like a vulture had fallen on Mexico." 

It is hard to place Juarez in history, for this reason, he had 
a work to do that no other one in the world's history has had to 
do. Washington led the forces of the Colonies against a com- 
mon foe. He had but a few factions to reconcile; they were 
acquainted more or less with the principle of self government. 
Lincoln was the leader of a great nation in a struggle against 
disintegration and disunion, and incidentally the Emancipator 
of a race. But Juarez indeed had to make brick without straw. 
He found a country wrecked with civil wars and factional fights, 
constantly engaged in turmoil and battle ; a church that had em- 
braced the entire population whose hierarchy was thoroughly 
disloyal to every principle of the Republic and made no attempt 
to conceal it, but openly avowing their sympathies with the 
mother country, Spain. That church controlled and owned more 
than two-thirds of the real estate of the country. The army 
dominated everything. Civil administration was subordinate to 
it. Juarez determined that all this should be changed. He 
inaugurated a struggle to liberate the Republic both from the 
rule of the church and the army. It was no warfare against the 
religion of the country, but against the church as a political 
power. The army must be made subordinate to the civil admin- 



22 LIFE OF PRESIDENT DENITO PABLO JUAREZ 

istration; a system oi" public schools should be established that 
should give every child in the Republic a chance for liberal 
education, and the teachers of these schools should be secular 
teachers, teachers that would educate the Mexican children in 
love and devotion to their country and to the Republican institu- 
tions, marriage should be a civil contract; and religious liberty, 
the right to worship God as everyone saw fit and proper, would 
be the law of the land. As monasteries and convents were 
schools where disloyalty was taught, they should be abolished. 
Anyone knowing the Mexican people can appreciate somewhat 
the extent of his task. For ten years all the powers of the 
church, all the powers of the army, and finally reinforced as 
they were by one of the most powerful nations of Europe, were 
against him. Such opposition was so stupendous that we can 
hardly conceive of it, yet in ten years — one single decade — his 
victory was complete in every particular, and before his death, 
he saw these principles so thoroughly entrenched, that in the 
forty years that have elapsed since then, no attempt has been 
made to undo what he did, and Mexico firmly established on 
these broad and humane principles of enlightenment we trust 
to a glorious future. 

When future historians shall search out the history of the 
nineteenth century to find and write down the names of those 
splendid men that adorned and glorified that century, Jefferson, 
Lincoln, Garabaldi, Gladstone, Cavour, among this galaxy of 
glorious names, one that shall shine as bright and as resplendent 
as any, will stand the name of Benito Pablo Juarez, the saviour 
and regenerator of Mexico, 

FINIS 



■^^RftRY OF 



CONGRESS 




830 402 ^"' 



PHESS Of BONNER PRINTINa CO., 410 FRANCIS, ST. JOSEPH, MO. 



X 



